Entries tagged with: Texas is theReason

Two different sections of the '90s underground, indie rock and emo, will be coming together with a new project called Felled Trees. The band is comprised of members of '90s emo bands Texas is the Reason, Samiam, Knapsack (plus newer bands like Thrice and RX Bandits) and more, and they've come together to record a tribute album to Dinosaur Jr.'s Where You Been for its 20th anniversary. The core lineup is bassist Ed Breckenridge (Thrice), guitarist Sergie Loobkoff (Samiam, Solea, Knapsack), and drummer/producer Roger Camero (No Motiv, Peace'd Out), and the album includes guest vocal appearances from Garrett Klahn (Texas is the Reason, Atlantic/Pacific, Solea), Jason Beebout (Samiam), Blair Sheehan (Knapsack, The Jealous Sound), Karl Larsson (Last Days of April), Davey Warsop (Suedehead, Beat Union), plus keys by Steve Choi (RX Bandits, Peace'd Out).

The first single released from the album was "Get Me" with Texas is the Reason's Garret Klahn on vocals, and the second is "Start Choppin" with Samiam's Jason Beebout on vocals, which makes its premiere in this post. It stays pretty true to the original and Jason's take on J Mascis' relaxed drawl totally captures his essence. In Jason's own words:

"Start Choppin" is rad because it is such an anthem, you can't help but sing along. Cruising through the verses with J Mascis, diggin the vibe and feeling awesome and then, like so many other good songs, when you get to the chorus there's that hard part that makes your voice crack and you are reminded that you are mortal and this band is great and you are thankful they were able to pull off such a sweet number.

And his Samiam bandmate Sergie Loobkoff added:

When 'Green Mind' came out, I was still hung up on the erroneous thought that Dinosaur had lost it or 'sold out' because a. it being on a, gasp, major label and that b. J squeezed out Murph on drums and 'some guy' replaced Lou. But in the few years that passed by the time "Where You Been' came out, I realized that J was the far superior drummer, Mike Johnson was an tasty bassist...and who cares what label a band is on?

So I put on 'Where You Been' and of course even just the opening lead of 'Out There' blew my mind. You'd think that it would be hard to match on the second song...but 'Start Choppin' was a motherfucker. The guitar riff has that feeling of familiarity...like I already knew it when I heard it for the first time. And the melody and lyrics were classic Mascis. If you relate to one of his songs...well, thematically there isn't a huge range of topics...you 'get' all of his songs.

The album comes out on October 15 via Siren Records, and it can be pre-ordered here. Check out the streams of "Start Choppin" and "Get Me," along with the album artwork and tracklist, below.

In related news, Knapsack bring their previously mentioned reunion tour to NYC on November 17 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Have Mercy and I Hate Our Freedom. Tickets for that show are still available.

Goodbye, Texas is the Reason.. from the USA at least. The reunited post-hardcore band is currently in the EU to bid adieu to the band, playing dates as part of their final stretch of shows. Thankfully, they left us with a parting gift in the form of their Maxwell's appearance on Monday (7/22). We already posted the setlist and now here are photos from that show -- including ones of opener Dave Hill.

While you're down there, check out the video interview with the band where they nerd out on gear, discuss the reunion and the reason (Texas is, of course) why they decided to have their big send off overseas.

Post-hardcore vets Texas is the Reason are about to end their reunion with a short European tour which begins this week. But after some speculation and strong hints, the NYC band decided to squeeze in one last hometown-area show at Hoboken's soon-to-close Maxwell's last night (7/22), a venue they played multiple times during their initial run as a band. They did mention on stage that they've always considered themselves a New Jersey band by way of New York because they used to practice in a Long Valley basement all the time.

The band came out to "Do You Know Who You Are?," the title track off their only full length album, playing through the PA, and proceeded to perform the rest of that album (not in order), in addition to some other deeper cuts from their career. During their set, they also mentioned that they didn't expect do the show, but Maxwell's asked them and it was a fitting closing for the band ending and the club (which they all grew up going to) closing. The full setlist and a vine from the show are below.

First, we were wondering if reunited post-hardcore vets Texas is the Reason (whose reunion is soon to end) would squeeze in another NYC-area date before calling it quits. Then the band dropped a pretty strong hint, followed by one more (pictured above). And now it's officially confirmed that Texas is the Reason will play one of the last-ever shows at Hokboken's Maxwell's on Monday (7/22)! They'll be joined by special guest Dave Hill. Tickets for the show go on sale today (7/21) at 3 PM.

Texas is the Reason reunited again in 2012 for Revelation Records' 25th anniversary and played shows at Irving Plaza, Music Hall of Williamsburg and Saint Vitus in NYC in addition to some touring. In May they announced "The Grand Finale", an eight-date European tour that runs from 7/26 - 8/4. After that, they say, they're done again. Assuming they're telling the truth, that gives them about a week between when I'm writing this and when they leave for Europe to make a last minute announcement and do it one more time for NYC.

"Our hearts go out to those severely affected by this tragic incident. Being from Long Island, Hurricane Sandy has (quite literally) hit home for us. The music scene in Long Island, the New York metro area and New Jersey have been so supportive to Vision of Disorder over the years that we felt donating the proceeds from the Brooklyn show was a no-brainer. We are proud to announce that the opening acts (Primitive Weapons, Yuppicide, Swarm of Arrows) have also agreed to donate their proceeds. We hope that this small gesture can add to the ongoing efforts and help rebuild these traumatized areas. We look forward to seeing you all on November 24 to support this cause." -[Tim Williams, Vision of Disorder]

Kudos to the bands for turning their MHoW show on 11/24 into "Picking up Change: Hardcore for Hurricane Relief," with all the bands donating their money to the Red Cross. Mosh against Sandy by buying tickets HERE.

So far no other dates have been scheduled for VOD in the US, though the band will hit Australia with Ghost in the new year. All tour dates are below.

In other hardcore-ish news, Texas is The Reason, who reunited for Rev25 (pics) and also played Saint Vitus (pics), will also play the Chicago Revelation show in early January. In addition, look for the band to play a few extended weekends through late March. No new NYC date, but they will play Philadelphia on February 16 and tickets are still available.

The first night of the Revelation Records 25th anniversary(10/11) featured a headlining appearance from Texas is The Reason (who played MHoW on Wednesday), along with sets from Underdog, Shades Apart, Gameface and On The Might Of Princes (who play a sold-out Saint Vitus tonight). Hardcore bands love their covers and the Revelation show was no different; Shades Apart covered "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell and Gameface covered the first few bars of "Wonderwall" by Oasis.

Pictures from the first night of the Irving Plaza celebration (none of OtMoP, sorry) adorn this post. Three of the five bands at Rev night one, namely Gameface, TitR and OtMoP, all took part in a free show on Wednesday night as well, with the latter two playing announced-last-minute/surprise sets at Saint Vitus (pics).

Later that night Acheron would host a headlining set from Chain of Strength, who are scheduled to play tonight (10/12) and Saturday (10/13) as part of the Rev25 celebration. Pictures of their appearance with Clear and Creem are HERE.

The celebration continues at Irving Plaza tonight with headliners Sick of it All, who will be joined by the aformentioned Chain Of Strength, plus Mouthpiece, Damnation AD and Popeye. Tickets are still available. Gear up for tonight's show by checking out more photos from Night One below.

Texas is The Reason took the stage at St. Vitus Wednesday night (10/10) to perform a semi-secret late night mini-set at the end of the Gameface/Descender/Model Home show. The appearance was in addition to their showing at a sold-out Music Hall of Williamsburg with States & Kingdoms earlier that night. Pictures from both shows are below.

Enthusiasm ran high in the lead-off sets by Descender and Model Home, which was quickly followed by the last minute addition of Long Island emo heroes On The Might of Princes. By the time OTMOP took the stage, the dim back room of St. Vitus was crackling with giddy, adolescent energy. Someone shouted, "Is anyone here NOT from Long Island?" a split second before all the lights went out. And as the stage lit up, frontman Jason Rosenthal's strident, melancholic voice pierced into the long-since-past malcontent suburban kid of yesteryear.

For their set, St. Vitus wasn't St. Vitus, but the VFW Hall in Bellmore ten years ago or the rec center in Huntington... whatever deeply personal and nostalgic place that hardcore was born for them. Out of nowhere, strangers draped arms over each other's shoulders, smiled, and sang together with total abandon because they weren't strangers, really -- they shared a collective memory of this band, and that was all that mattered.

That sense of camaraderie carried through Gameface into Texas is the Reason. Though their set was short, the die-hards stuck it out til the end and reaped the reward of an intimate performance -- much smaller than the Music Hall of Williamsburg they played earlier that same evening and the Irving Plaza last night (10/11). Texas rattled through fan favorites like "Back and to the Left" and "A Jack with One Eye," as well as the lesser known but beloved "If It's Here When We Get Back, It's Ours." Even when they finished playing, there was no usual refrain of "That's it?!" Everyone was sated --audience and band included.

Texas is The Reason went on to play Revelation 25 last night and pictures from Irving Plaza are on the way. Until then, check out pictures from Music Hall of Williamsburg, pictures of Texas is The Reason and Gameface from Saint Vitus, and video of TiTR, Gameface and OTMOP all below.

Chain of Strength played Acheron last night (10/11) joined by support from Clear and Creem, a prequel to their two-night stay as part of Revelation 25. As expected, the lines at Acheron were massive by the time door hit at 11PM, with Brooklyn's Creem hitting at 11:30 sharp and the entire affair all wrapped up by 1:30AM. The room was wall-to-wall stagedives, X'd-up hands and energy for the entirety of their set. Pictures and video from Acheron are below.

In related news, Texas is The Reason play a sold-out show with States & Kingdomsat Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight (10/10) and will be at Rev25 on Thursday with Underdog, Shades Apart, Gameface, and On The Might Of Princes. Both shows are sold-out.

Jersey punks Bouncing Souls, who released their new album, Comet, over the summer, have already played New York and New Jersey a bunch this year, but there are still more chances to catch them in the area. The band have just announced their sixth annual Home For the Holidays shows which will go down from December 26 to 29 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Openers will be announced on October 25 and tickets will go on sale the next day (10/26). All dates are listed below.

As mentioned, 'Souls frontman Greg Attonito is also playing an Asbury Park show with his wife Shanti Wintergate as the children's music duo Play Date on October 20 at Asbury Lanes.

In other NYC area punk news, Crime In Stereo, who called it quits back in 2010, have announced via facebook that "two years was long enough" and they plan to return to recording and releasing new music. They also announced that they'll play one show in 2012 and it happens in NYC on November 24 at Gramercy Theatre with I Am the Avalanche. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (10/5) at noon.

In more NYC/NJ area punk news, Geoff Rickly of Thursday and Zena Rd (aka Garrett Klahn of Texas is the Reason) are teaming up (not the first time this year Geoff has teamed with a member of TITR) for a tour of people's houses in the Northeast (that's been biglately too). The tour is with The Black Numbers and Fred Mascherino and you can head to The Black Numbers' website for more details and to request hosting a show in your house. Once all the dates and cities are figured out, the tour announcement and ticket info will be revealed.

As mentioned, Julie Klauser has some upcoming appearances in NYC, including one at The Bell House on Thursday (9/20) for a screening of The Monkees 1968 film, Head, with former MTV News journalist Kurt Loder, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield, and Monkees historian Eric Lefcowitz; and another at The Bell House on October 17 for Julie's How Was Your Week podcast with Ted Leo. You'll also have a third chance to see her when she participates in a live recording of the Going Off Track podcast at Union Hall on Saturday (9/22) with Thursday's Geoff Rickly, Texas Is The Reason's Norman Brannon, and blogger Sarah Lewitinn (aka Ultragrrrl). Tickets for all three of those shows are on sale now.

Speaking of Ted Leo, as mentioned, his tour with Aimee Mann hits NYC for three shows next month. Ted is also featured in Aimee's new video for "Labrador," which was directed by Tom Scharpling, and also features his WFMU cohort (and Superchunk drummer) Jon Wurster and actor Jon Hamm. You can watch that below.

Norman Brannon of Texas is the Reason

Speaking of Texas Is The Reason and Thursday, as mentioned, TITR added a show happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 10 with ex-Thursday and Rival Schools project States & Kingdoms, one day before their sold out Revelation 25 show at Irving Plaza (10/11). Tickets for the MHOW show are still available.

As mentioned, the Revelation Records 25th Anniversary shows are going down in NYC at Irving Plaza this October. The first happens on October 11 with reunited emo vets Texas Is The Reason. That show immediately sold out, but the band have added another NYC show which will take place one day earlier (10/10) at Music Hall of Williamsburg with States & Kingdoms (ex-Rival Schools and Thursday). Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/17) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (8/15) at noon.

The Texas Is The Reason reunion is also the subject of a short film by Steve Pedulla called It is Happening Again: A Texas is the Reason Microfilm. You can watch part 1 of that film below.

Texas Is The Reason isn't the only reunited band playing another NYC show surrounding Revelation 25. As discussed, On The Might of Princes will play Saint Vitus on October 12 one day after playing Revelation 25 (10/11). Tickets for that show are still available.

Sunday, October 14, 2012Into Another
Youth Of Today
Supertouch
Iceburn

Revelation 25 happens October 11 - 14 at Irving Plaza in NYC. Tickets are currently on artist presale for all dates (day one, day two, day three, day four, four day pass), with regular sale hitting Friday (7/13) at 10AM. Anyone have the password? What do you think of the lineup?

The East Coast version of the Revelation Records 25 lineup officially exploded with the announcement of 8 new bands (!) to their lineup which happens October 11 - 14 at Irving Plaza in NYC. Joining the previously discussed Chain of Strength, Into Another, Bold and Texas is The Reason will be appearances from Youth of Today, Supertouch, Underdog, Iceburn, Battery, Shai Hulud, Gameface, and Mouthpiece. No word on who else will be in the lineup, or when we can expect tickets to surface but we'll keep you informed.

The previously discussed dates (10/11 - 10/14) for the Revelation Records 25h Anniversary show have been confirmed publicly by the label who has now released a second flyer. The first was the one with the "X" that we posted about 6/17 (which went up on the Revelation site the next day) and now we have this second flyer which clearly points out the state of Texas. Can we look forward toChain of Strength with Texas is The Reason? Seems alot more likely than Quicksand.

UPDATE: Looks like Into Another is on board, from the looks of the flyer below (that came from the Revelation Records website).

The Walter Schreifels Band, led by Walter Schreifels of Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits Civ, Rival Schools, and Youth of Today fame, performed at the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 20th (with Fanfarlo, Laura Marling, The Antlers, Think About Life, and The Wheel.) Since then, the band (which also features Dave Hill on guitar and Arthur Smilios of GB/Civ on bass) played another show in Austin. They were actually on the same bill as Voxtrot at the Mohawk on Saturday night. It was a Fun Fun Fun Fest afterparty and Walter and Arthur were already in town because Gorilla Biscuits played the fest proper (those pics coming soon).

Walter's next show will take place this Saturday night, 11/14, at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick, NJ. Also on the bill are Atlantic/Pacific (Garrett from Texas Is The Reason), Dave Walsh (The Loved Ones), and Tom Dunphy. Walter is also making an appearance at Lolita Bar in NYC on Wednesday, 11/18, but at that...

"I'll be reading with this Italian translator reading some choice Italian pop songs in translation, A banjo playing double decker bus tour guide and the beautiful banshee Kamara Thomas from Earl Greyhound."

He also has two shows coming up in California. All dates, the NJ flyer, with more pictures, video, and the setlist from CMJ, below...

...And the punks will say "Oi To The World"! And by punks, I mean Walter Schreifels during a FREE live set at the Punk Slope "Xmess Party" at Bar 4 (444 7th Ave @ 15th St) in Park Slope on Dec 20th (not the first time Walter played that party). The shindig kicks off at 10PM and along for the ride on the wheels of steel are Chris Daly (ex-Texas Is The Reason, 108 & Jets To Brazil), Jay Gotrian (Eye For An Eye), and Josh Grabelle (Trustkill Records).

Walter recently completed a music video for a cover of Agnostic Front's "Society Suckers" from the hardcore landmark Victim In Pain (viewable below). Why cover a classic track from a classic album? Let the man speak:

Agnostic Front vs. Mozart

Victim In Pain by Agnostic Front is one of my favorite records of all time, it's classical music. If you don't know this album I highly recommend that you get familiar with it. Don't be scared away by the misleading artwork, although that's part of the album's "Power" (title of a song on VIP) AF's music fights against fascism and the attitudes of fascists ("Fascist Attitudes")

I think cavemen would have liked Victim In Pain better than anything Mozart ever came up with, or the Beatles. If you had to get psyched up to kill a Wooly Mammoth, would you listen to The Beatles with Sgt. Pepper on french horn or Victim In Pain with Vinny Stigma on lead? I can almost hear the cave men screaming (if they had developed language) STIGMA!!!

It's timeless music, post apocalypse Mad Max people will be rocking to it in a thousand years. Do you think anyone is gonna give a shit about The Shins when you could be raped, lit on fire, dragged by a motorcycle and killed for a liter of gas (which kind of defeats the purpose)? Shit, Apes from Planet Of The Apes would love AF, though the Chimps and Orangutans maybe not as much.

Anyhoo, it's not a music competition, I like The Shins and there is a place for them too but I think that Victim In Pain is more important and unique in the evolution of music, art, mankind, that it goes beyond indie rock and steps into Smithsonian Institute territory.

For that reason I covered AF's "Society Suckers" from Victim In Pain. My version doesn't approach the aggressive power of the original but I had fun interpreting it, an homage. I think of it as classic folk song like "This Land Is Your Land", I wish Woody Guthrie would do a version in the time/space continuum. -Walter

"Opening up was Garrett from Texas is the Reason's new band, Surrounding Areas. It sounded like a slowed down possibly, at times, country influenced, Texas. Good but not spectacular...

...Finally, Bluetip came up and just blew everyone away. They sounded so tight and just so damn anthemic. They played almost every song I wanted to hear (besides Castanet) and really just fucking rocked it." [ThePunkGuy]

The recently reformedBluetip (featuring members of the mighty Swiz) have lined up a handful of dates including one at Mercury Lounge on August 24th. Tickets are on sale. Let's hop in the time machine, courtesy of the world's most accurate encyclopedia:

Bluetip was a rock band from Washington, D.C. It was formed in 1995 by ex-members of Swiz, and released four albums, an EP, and a number of singles before splitting up in January 2002.

Bluetip's music is a fairly accessible brand of 'post-hardcore' punk rock, but without the bleak introspection of many of their Dischord labelmates.

Following the demise of Bluetip, Jason Farrell and Joe Gorelick went on to form Retisonic, who are also on hand for the show. Retisonic was captured by Punkcast a few years ago. The Netherlands (the band, not the country) and The Surrounding Areas, a band constructed Frankenstein-style from pieces of Texas Is The Reason, Walking Concert, and Jets To Brazil, will jumpstart the evening.

House and Parish is a new band featuring Jason Gnewikow (guitarist from Promise Ring), Brian Malone (drummer from The Gloria Record), John Herguth (singer/guitarist from the Love Scene), and Scott Winegard (bassist from the-recently-reunited-for-two-showsTexas is the Reason). They'll play their first show ever this Thursday night (June 14) at Luna Lounge in Brooklyn. To make it more interesting, Garrett Klahn, the singer of Texas is the Reason, will open the show with a solo set, and Antarctica's drummer Glenn Maryansky's new band Blacklist will go on after them. Then to keep the hipsters (kidding) happy, Foreign Islands are headlining the show. Tickets are on sale.

House and Parish are also playing Maxwell's w/ The Narrator on June 21st.